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The BEST vegan Caesar salad with crispy chickpea croutons! This easy vegan Caesar dressing is so tasty (and oil-free!) and the chickpea croutons are irresistible!
A salad, on MY blog? Yes. The queen of vegan comfort foods has fallen in love with a salad but that’s great news for you all. You KNOW this salad will be delicious!
Last week I got a sudden hankering for Caesar salad. I don’t typically eat Caesar salads because I haven’t tried a vegan version (until now!), so I knew when the craving hit I just HAD to get in the kitchen and get to work!
Thankfully, this was pretty much perfect from the first go (that doesn’t always happen!). Even the chickpea croutons came out so good! Needless to say, we’ve been eating a lot of this vegan Caesar salad with crispy chickpea croutons the last several days but you won’t find me complaining!
What’s in the Vegan Caesar Dressing?
The base is raw boiled cashews to give it that irresistible creamy texture. The ingredients all go into the blender and it takes 5 minutes to make (after you boil the cashews).
Some key ingredients are:
Cashews– for creaminess
Capers– for briny flavor
Dijon Mustard– for that classic tang
Fresh garlic–for depth and because garlic is a necessity
This vegan Caesar salad dressing tastes so similar to the real deal, I cant stop eating it!
How to Make Vegan Crispy Chickpea Croutons
The crispy chickpeas contain similar seasonings to croutons: garlic powder, onion powder, salt and a little Italian seasoning and they give this dish such a delicious and pleasing textural element.
All you do is preheat the oven, drain, rinse, peel and dry a can of chickpeas, toss in the olive oil and seasonings and bake for about 25 minutes! They are so easy to make.
Drying the chickpeas can be a little time consuming, but I find the best way to do it is to drain and rinse them, then lay them on a thick kitchen towel. Cover the chickpeas with the towel and gently rub and pat- this should remove most of the skins. Peel the rest of the skins off and then continue to gently pat the chickpeas dry. Use a new dry towel if the first one gets too wet. You want to make sure these are dry before baking them or they wont crisp up as well.
Make it a Kale Caesar Pasta Salad
Another way to enjoy this dish and add some more protein and substance is to make it a kale caesar pasta salad with baked tofu. Here’s how to make it:
First, start by boiling your pasta. While you are waiting for the water to boil and pasta to be done, put the chickpea croutons and/or tofu in the oven. I have a double oven so I cook them at the same time, but if you are working with one oven, I recommend starting with the chickpea croutons so they have time to cool and get crispy once out of the oven. Then bake your tofu.
Once your pasta is done, set aside to cool then wash, dry and chop your kale.
How to Bake Tofu:
Preheat them oven to 425 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Cut up one block on super firm/high protein tofu. I love this kind of tofu because you don’t have to press it! Cut the tofu into medium sized cubes and add to a bowl with the oil and seasonings in the recipe below. Toss and add to a lined cookie sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes on each side. Once done and slightly browned, set aside to cool.
Once the pasta is done, and the chickpea croutons and the baked tofu are out of the oven and cooled, add everything to a bowl with the chopped kale. Add your caesar dressing (you can use the vegan dressing below or for non-vegan, my favorite is Primal Kitchen Caesar Dressing). Add a handful of Parmesan cheese if desired. Mix well and enjoy immediately or store in the fridge for later.
I hope you enjoy this vegan caesar salad with crispy chickpea croutons!
If you are new to using cashews as a base for your favorite dairy-free swaps, be sure to check out this recipe for vegan cashew cream cheese and this recipe for vegan cashew alfredo sauce!
If you make this recipe, I would love a rating and comment below! Don’t forget to take a photo and tag @wholesome.crumbs on Instagram!
Vegan Caesar Salad with Crispy Chickpea Croutons [GF]
Ingredients
Vegan Caesar Dressing
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp capers do NOT include the brine- just the capers
- 2 & 1/2 tsp fresh crushed garlic about 5 cloves
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 + 1/8 tsp salt plus more to taste
- pepper to taste
- a tiny bit of lemon zest don't over do this or it will be too lemony! Just a tiny little pinch will do it
Crispy Chickpea Croutons
- 2 15 oz can chickpeas drained, rinsed, skins peeled and dried very well
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt plus an extra pinch or two to taste after baking if necessary
- 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
Baked Tofu
- 1 block super firm/high protein tofu I use and recommend this kind of tofu because you don’t have to press it
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp pink salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Additional ingredients for the kale pasta salad version above
- About 12-14 ounces dry bow tie pasta I used 8 cups of cooked pasta
- A couple handfuls red kale washed dried and chopped. Use as much kale as you like!
- Your desired amount of regular or vegan Parmesan cheese
- About 1/2 to 3/4 cup store bought Caesar dressing or vegan cashew Caesar dressing
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper for the chickpeas. Next, add your cashews and enough water to cover them to a pot. Cover and turn heat to high and bring to a boil.
- Once the cashews are boiling, reduce heat to medium, tilt the lid, and boil for 20 minutes. When they are done, drain the water and set aside to cool.
- While the cashews are boiling, open your can of chickpeas, drain and rinse well, and then transfer the chickpeas to a thick kitchen towel. Wrap the chickpeas in the towel and gently pat and rub the chickpeas dry. This process should lead to most of the chickpeas skins coming off. Remove as many skins as you can and then continue to dry the chickpeas in the kitchen towel. You definitely want to make sure these are dry or they wont get crispy. If the first towel gets too wet, you may want transfer the chickpeas to a new dry towel.
- Once the chickpeas are dry, add them to a bowl and add all the remaining ingredients. Stir well and then place them on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer, leaving a little space in between them, and bake on the middle rack for about 25 minutes. All ovens vary so watch these closely! It's OK if they aren't entirely crispy once they are done-they will firm up more once they cool.
- While your chickpeas are in the oven, make your Caesar dressing (your cashews should be boiled, drained and cooled at this point). Combine all of the Caesar dressing ingredients into a high speed blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy. That's it!
- When everything is ready, add romaine lettuce to a bowl, add the dressing and chickpeas and enjoy! Top with nutritional yeast or vegan Parmesan cheese! Store the leftover dressing covered in the refrigerator.
For the Kale Caesar Pasta Salad
- First, start by boiling your pasta.
- While you are waiting for the water to boil and pasta to be done, put the chickpea croutons and/or tofu in the oven. NOTE: I have a double oven so I cook them at the same time, but if you are working with one oven, I recommend starting with the chickpea croutons so they have time to cool and get crispy once out of the oven. Then bake your tofu.
- Once your pasta is done, set aside to cool and wash, dry and chop your kale.
- How to Bake Tofu: Preheat them oven to 425 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Cut up one block on super firm/high protein tofu. I love this kind of tofu because you don’t have to press it! Cut the tofu into medium sized cubes and add to a bowl with the oil and seasonings in the recipe below. Toss and add to a lined cookie sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes on each side. Once done and slightly browned, set aside to cool.
- Once the pasta is done, and the chickpea croutons and the baked tofu are out of the oven and cooled, add everything to a bowl with the chopped kale. Add your caesar dressing (you can use the vegan dressing below or for non-vegan, my favorite is Primal Kitchen Caesar Dressing). Add a handful of Parmesan cheese if desired. Mix well and enjoy immediately or store in the fridge for later.
Notes
- makes about 1 & 3/4 cups vegan Caesar dressing
Great recipe!
Caesar salad without cheese, olive oil or mayonnaise….really?
The dressing was delicious and I didn’t feel guilty while I enjoyed it!
Plus, the chick pea croutons were excellent.
I am so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your comment!
Delicioussssss !
Loved the crunchy croutons and the garlicky creamy dressing- yumm! M husband was very happy too 🙂
I am so glad! Thank you so much for taking the time to rate and comment! 🙂
So delicious! The best vegan Cesar dressing I’ve ever had and super simple to make
Oh I am so glad to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, Lauren! 🙂